Reword Saved Game error

[Gambit37]

If RTC can't find the save game for the current dungeon specified in the Init file, it gives you an error, but doesn't say which game it's looking for. Could you add the name of the file to this error message? At least telling the user the name of the file might remind them what the problem is.

[George Gilbert]

Sure - but how can this occur? Do you mean an error, or just a DM-style message box telling you it can't find it - also when does this occur; at the entrance or after you die (or both)? Does it occur naturally, or do you have to mess about it windows renaming / moving files between games?

[Gambit37]

I guess one wouldn't normally see it, but this is what I did:

1) Played RTC with the DM dungeon, saving my game along the way, then quit.
2) Edited the Init file to play the maptest file to check out the Magic map features, but didn't save the game
3) Quit the game, then played RTC again and 'resumed' at the dungeon entrance to continue the DM save game, forgetting to change the init file to dm.rtc
4) error generated 'cos RTC is expecting to find a savegame called maptest.sav

Make sense?

[George Gilbert]

Yes if it was a DM-style message box, no if it was a windows one...

[Gambit37]

Yes, 'twas a DM style error...

[beowuuf]

So RTC save files aren't stand alone like dm ones? You need the right *.rtc source file too? What does the save file contain then?

[Gambit37]

No, they ARE separate. It's just that if your INIT.TXT file specifies a new dungeon named for example GAMBIT.RTC then when you click on 'Resume' on the Dungeon entrance, the game will look for the equivalent save game file GAMBIT.SAV. The RTC files are analogous to the original DUNGEON.DAT file and the SAV files are analogous to the DMGAME.DAT file created when you save a game in the original dungeon master. You don't need both to play a saved game.

[beowuuf]

Ah, i see, that's a nice flexibility so that you can play multiple dugeons without worrying about saves...

[Gambit37]

This is an old thread, but I just read it again and found that my final reply now doesn't apply.

Since v0.15 (I think) you *DO* need both the RTC file and the SAV file to play a saved game, since things like the Hint Oracle data, new sounds and bitmaps etc, are all stored in the RTC file, not the SAV file.

[beowuuf]

I thought the plan was to have a fourth .dat (data4.dat or something) to contain all of these...

[Gambit37]

Nope, since v0.15 George changed it so that all the override stuff a designer might specify is now compiled into the RTC file. So for dungeons that change lots of graphics and add lots of new sounds, the RTC file could potentially be MBs large.

This means that it will be much easier for end users to distribute finished dungeons as it's all in one file...! The corresponding SAVS will be small as they'll only contain the current status of the dungeon and the champions, but not the new graphics etc...